Concerns about fishing conditions.

[walleyewelch]

I saw my first walleye at the age of seven and i have had a love fest for the fish all of my fishing life. when I was a boy the only pickerel that were cought came from the canadian reefs the chicks and around pelee. and back then it was the flat fish hard bait and casting into the rocks on the reefs to catch fish and usualy early morning paid off. then came the weight forward lowe lure the answere to count down casting and a whole new way to find the elusive walleye then the hot & tot and every other stick bait that could dive deeper became a good bet. today the worm rig and bottom bouncers. I think every method that I have used in the past would work if i would want to try them today but as fishing conditions have changed the trolling moter has been mounted to the boat and worm rigs with weight forward on boards has been my best attack. it has been a good bait for the past seven years by changing blade colors to meet the conditions of the water. this year has been extreamly rough with high winds and muddy water I have not had a great spring but I think every one is hitting the panic button a little early no it is not 2007 or 2008 any more but the fish are out their and maybe a bad spring is what the fish needed so fewer spring fish pulled may help the population for all in the future

[FishOn205]

well i dont have 50 years on the lake but waleyewelch is right its a little early to hit the panic button. times are changin and so are the fish. maybe this is wat the fish need is a bad year for us to help their poplution so in the coming years fishin will be better. and thats why they call it fishin and not catchin its not always going to be a great day on the water but it will always beat a day at work.

[wakina]

well i dont have 50 years on the lake but waleyewelch is right its a little early to hit the panic button. times are changin and so are the fish. maybe this is wat the fish need is a bad year for us to help their poplution so in the coming years fishin will be better. and thats why they call it fishin and not catchin its not always going to be a great day on the water but it will always beat a day at work.

I do have 50+years on the lake and I could not agree more with your opinion you are spot on, those who have fished the lake for several years and those who are flexible seem to be catching their fair share of fish even though alot of people seem to draw a blank with only 1 or 2 and maybe no fish per trip. As I have stated before in earlier posts we would fish all summer during the 60's and early 70's for what we now catch in a day or two. Thats right maybe 30 fish all summer but we didn't give up and now we are reaping the benefits of those long fishless days as it made us better fishermen. Use this time to really get to know walleyes and how they behave.

Over the past 5 years alot of fishermen have become spoiled with the large amount of fish available from the 2003 year class fish. Now that the fish population has become normal to a little below normal and the weather has been as bad as it has to change the eyes feeding habits it seems alot of fishermen believe the sky has fallen, we are now just getting into the mayfly hatch and that will again slow things down for alot of fishermen. also the water temps are running 5 to 9 degrees below normal for this time of year just to throw another variable into the mix there is also a very large amount of baitfish out there to boot. The best thing that anyone can do to help them catch fish is to keep a log as to where fished, water and weather conditions,lures, speeds and direction, after awhile a pattern will start to develop as what worked, when, where, and under what conditions. Just my opinion on the subject and I did not write this to offend anyone but to try and help make everyone a little better at catching fish.

[wakina]

I blame allot of it on the double dippers more than anything else. I share a dock with a guy who gets all he can hauls them to Fla in the winter and sells them. What does ODNR d about thm? Nothing. So if you have ever double dipped look in the mirror at the problem.

Next time you get an answer of I can't or we don't have time, or we don't want to be bothered form the ODNR please PM me. I have some contacts that work in the ODNR Fishieries Office in Sandusky. I bet you I can get some results to the problem.

[Russ Hunsaker]

There was a short story on the news today attributing the fish kill on the lake could be blamed on the power plants. The numbers they were talking was killing millions upon millions of fish in the cooling water intakes. The numbers on newly hatched fish and fish eggs were in the billions.

It seems like a pretty easy fix to avoid sucking in fish and fish eggs but I guess it's not a priority to the power plants.

Russ

[dreamcatcher]

Mr. Miller,

Generally, the declining walleye population over the past few years is
associated with a couple of things. First, the very large 2003
year-class is aging, and moving through the fishery, and second, we have
had moderate to poor hatches since the large 2003 hatch ('07 and '10
were considered average). In general, however, the walleye population
is still in the 20 million fish range, which is considered a
"maintenance" level. The larger than normal walleye mortality event
that occurred this year was unusual, and probably associated with the
horrible spring weather that we had. We tested several fish for
evidence of viral and bacterial infections that may have been the cause
of the die-off, and samples came back negative, so we believe that the
fish were in a highly stressed state due to the combination of spawning,
and weather, that that opened the door to secondary infections such as
Aeromonas.

I did follow the link you provided below and I see that a whole host of
potential issues have been brought up by the posters. Rather than
address each point with the info that we have, please feel free to call
me at the number below and we can discuss (it would probably take me a
few hours to address all of them in writing....).

Regarding additional spring fishing restrictions, we have been working
extensively in both the tributaries and on the reefs exploring factors
affecting hatch strength over the past decade. As it stands now, we
have no direct evidence that spring fishing is causing the poor hatches,
it appears that it is primarily weather driven. However, we'll continue
to develop science to explore these issues and take whatever management
steps are necessary to ensure that we provide the proper types of
regulations to enhance walleye production.

Thanks for your comments and please give me a call.

Regards,

[capt charlie]

Well guys I have to agree, I have always gotten my limit everytime to the lake from Iowa and thats about every weekend, this year has offered me some challenges, not to mention the weather...I am still getting my limit but it takes longer and I have switched things up a bit, I have been experimenting with new cranks and find the hot-n-tots have been excelling my limit catches better than anything else, but yes it is taking me longer than norml and I think you guys talkin about them netters are on the right path, I had to be one of the first 10 boats in the water this spring, despite some mechanical issues I did do fairly well early jigging, then all hell broke loose the storms and shallow nets, i think the fish got caught up in the nets by either swimming in them freely or the storms pushing them in the nets, the DNR is full of bs..and it is money controllin them believe me they are so phony, I despies them...of course I think that about all law enforcement personal...I have seen it for myself when then netters go out and check there nets...and this year they werent able to get to them in 5 days because of the storms...now you put two and two together..........! They had better impose stricter limits and stop fishing during spawning, including nets(they shouldnt be allowed anywhere near spawning grounds what are the DNR thinking..?.....!

[Dale R. Callihan]

Yes, I'm concern but alot of what we are seeing is the results of doing nothing in the past few years. The drifters were getting worried before the 2003 hatch, but that big hatch saved the day for ODNR. Now eight years we are in the same situation, looking bleak. It's time for a season and limit changes, doesn't have to be forever, a few years may do it or at least help.
Another thing that has bothered is the sewage treatment plants will release raw sewage into the lake usually when there has been heavy rains and we sure had alot this year, how much sewage was released. The farmers have gotten the blame for the water quality but this year they were not in the fields until recently.

[wakina]

There are plenty of fish out there to be caught. They are now just getting cranked up. Remember you have to be flexible so stop trying to catch fish with what is not working for you on any given day and try another method.Take a look at the most recent reports!